Rabbit safe from prey-drive dog

A Mini Satin living alongside a dog with prey drive is a setup that needs to be taken seriously — rabbits can die of stress alone from repeated stalking or barking, even if the dog never makes physical contact. The barrier between them isn't just about preventing escape; it's about giving your rabbit a space where they genuinely feel safe. Rabbits are often underestimated as complex animals — they need space to move, hay making up about 80% of their diet, social interaction, and enrichment — and getting that foundation right matters a lot for their health and behaviour. Before I point you in a specific direction, can you tell me a bit more about the dog? Breed, size, and how the prey drive shows up — is it intense fixation and stalking, or more opportunistic lunging when the rabbit moves?

That silent, focused stalking is actually more concerning than barking — it's classic terrier prey drive and it won't train out easily. Jack Russells were specifically bred to pursue small animals into confined spaces, so you really do need a physical barrier that he cannot breach, not just a playpen or a soft-sided enclosure. The key question is: where does your rabbit currently live — is she in a hutch in a specific room, or does she have free roam of part of the house?

That makes complete sense — constant supervision is exhausting and it's not really fair on either animal. What you need is a pen system that attaches directly to the hutch so your rabbit has a secure, enclosed run she can access freely, and that the Jack Russell simply cannot get into or dismantle. My clear recommendation here is the Ferplast Krolik 160 Plus — it's a hutch and attached run combination with a fully enclosed top, solid wood construction, and metal mesh that a determined terrier can't push through or lift. The latch system is secure, and because the run is integrated rather than a separate soft pen, there are no gaps he can exploit. It gives her space to binky and stretch without you having to be in the room watching every second. You'd position it so she has permanent access between hutch and run, and manage when the dog is in the same room rather than supervising every interaction.

The Krolik 160 Plus is genuinely decent sized — the hutch section is 160cm wide and the attached run adds meaningful floor space, which is fine for a Mini Satin as her primary base. That said, if she's been getting evening free roam she's used to more space, so I'd still recommend giving her additional supervised time outside the enclosure when the dog is in another room or in the garden — even 20 to 30 minutes a day makes a difference to her wellbeing. Think of the Krolik as her secure home base, not her entire world. One thing to add: even with the barrier sorted, keep working on the dog's response around her — teaching a solid 'leave it' and rewarding calm behaviour near the enclosure will reduce her stress levels significantly over time, even if he's never going to be fully trustworthy off lead near her.

Good — it's widely available on Amazon UK and reasonably straightforward to assemble. Make sure when you set it up that the run sits flush on the floor with no gap underneath, and if your living room has a hard floor, add a hay mat or fleece liner in the run section so she has traction and somewhere comfortable to sit. You're doing the right thing by taking this seriously — a lot of people underestimate how much chronic low-level stress affects rabbit health, and giving her a space where she's genuinely secure will make a real difference to her behaviour and quality of life.